Zola Jesus - Conatus download album

Zola Jesus - Conatus

Artist: Zola Jesus

Album: Conatus

Release Date: October 4, 2011

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

In the vein of titles like Valusia and Stridulum, Zola Jesus' Conatus has a name that will send listeners scrambling for the dictionary. However, the term, which refers to the will to survive and evolve, couldn’t be more fitting for this set of songs. Nika Roza Danilova appears swathed in white on the album’s cover, the polar opposite of the blue-black murk that covered her on Stridulum. As on that album, the grime of her earlier work is gone, but where Stridulum reached out with somber reassurance, Conatus is internal, examining destruction, surrender, survival, and rebirth up close. “Hikikomori” takes its name from the Japanese term for people who withdraw from society, and revels in solitude even though its beat could set a dancefloor in motion. “Ixode,” meanwhile, uses a hard-bodied tick as inspiration for its subtly insistent warmth. Conatus' sound also feels like the other side of Stridulum's clarity, presenting fractured beats and electronics (it’s no coincidence that Danilova made her Warp Records debut in a collaboration with Prefuse 73 earlier in 2011) alongside strings and other organic elements in a pristine studio setting: the single “Vessel” presents a seamless mesh of tightly coiled, robotic rhythms and Danilova's ricocheting vocals.Over the course of the album, Danilova nods to goth, synth pop, industrial, and abstract electronica without pledging allegiance to any one style; she’s forging her own path, with the help of producer Brian Foote, her touring drummer Nick Johnson, and string players Sean McCann and Ryan York. Despite Conatus' experiments, the vital elements of Zola Jesus' sound -- massive drums and Danilova's throatily majestic voice -- are as unmistakable as ever. Her instrument is undeniably powerful, and more controlled here than it was before, but there’s still a remarkable rawness and vulnerability on songs such as the fatalistic “In Your Nature.” “Skin”’s self-loathing sounds like hitting bottom (albeit beautifully), and confessions like “it hurts to let you in” on “Collapse” manage to be as comforting as they are blunt. This complexity extends even to Conatus' relatively accessible moments, which inch closer to pop without actually delivering it. Only Danilova could make a more or less straightforward power ballad called “Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake"; “Seekir”’s rousing beat beckons, but Danilova's intensity is still formidable; and “Avalanche” sets her pleas for love to handclaps that sound like they’re straight from a Casio. While Conatus isn’t as direct as Stridulum, it’s still some of her most satisfying work. This is music made in and for the darkest hours, and a striking portrait of the times when crisis and opportunity meet.

Kenny Burrell / Kenny Burrell Trio / Stanley Cowell Quartet - A Night at the Vanguard download album

Kenny Burrell / Kenny Burrell Trio / Stanley Cowell Quartet - A Night at the Vanguard

Artist: Kenny Burrell / Kenny Burrell Trio / Stanley Cowell Quartet

Album: A Night at the Vanguard

Release Date: 1959

Genre: Jazz

Format: mp3 / FLAC

Kenny Burrell's storied career as perhaps the premier modern jazz guitarist has been documented by many efforts in the studio, but here's a nightclub date that may well be highly ranked as one of his very best efforts. The spontaneity and freshness of Burrell's lyric lines and deft chords is further enhanced by perhaps the most advanced musicians he has ever played with -- bassist Richard Davis and drummer Roy Haynes. For music done in 1959, this is heady, seat-of-the-pants, brilliantly executed jazz that is mostly based in standards, but stretched to exacting tolerances that bend, but are not close to breaking. Davis provides strong support without going as outward as he did later in life, while Haynes might sound subdued to his fans, yet has an elastic presence that allows the other two a lot of freedom to fully articulate this modern mainstream language as a prelude heading into the turbulent '60s. On this straight reissue that originally sported the title "Man at Work," the trio plays all standards save the lively blues groove, more pronounced than the studio version of Burrell's "All Night Long," and the Erroll Garner tune "Trio," where Burrell's proves expert at combining singles lines and chords in balance. Most of the material is very upbeat and energetic as on the fast and quick "Will You Still Be Mine," and the bop swing of "Broadway" mixed up a little melodically by Burrell. The love of Duke Ellington's music is always with the guitarist as rendered during "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'," where the genius of Burrell is extant in his ability to provide his own counterpoint. Burrell's other precious component is his ability to relax and consistently swing as on Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't," Benny Goodman's poignant and simple "Soft Winds," and dipping deep into the tenderness quotient on the ballad "I'm a Fool to Want You" aside the tango-flavored bass of Davis. A solid effort top to bottom, and a recording most highly recommended, this is Burrell and his extraordinary trio very close to, if not truly in their prime, and their element.

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade download album

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

Artist: My Chemical Romance

Album: The Black Parade

Release Date: October 31, 2006

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

At the heart of My Chemical Romance lore is the story of lead singer/songwriter/mouthpiece Gerard Way, an animator who decided to abandon illustrations and do "something with his life" in the wake of 9/11. Needless to say, that "important" thing was My Chemical Romance, which quickly rose to prominence among the emo and neo-punk bands that cluttered the rock landscape of the 2000s thanks in large part to "I'm Not OK (I Promise)," a surging piece of emo pop with a hook as ridiculously catchy as its title was ridiculous. It deservedly became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 2005, dragging its accompanying album -- 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the group's second -- along for the ride, turning MCR into stars, at least in modern rock circles. But, anybody who didn't follow the fashions of emo and punk closely might have ignored the group's tragic, romantic neo-goth image and merely assumed that MCR was another good poppy punk one-hit wonder, not far removed from, say, Fall Out Boy. My Chemical Romance intended to dispel all such misconceptions with their third album, The Black Parade, an unabashed, old-fashioned concept album, complete with characters wandering through a vague narrative that concerns very big themes like death.Actually, death is the only big theme on The Black Parade, which shouldn't come as a big surprise for a band that named their stopgap live album Life on the Murder Scene, nor should the record's theatricality come as much as a shock, either -- tragedy and melodrama are hardwired in the group's DNA, as illustrated by the often-told tale of Way's inspiration to form the band. Also, it's not as if The Black Parade is MCR's first concept album, either. Their 2002 debut, I Brought You My Bullets, and its follow-up, Three Cheers, told the interlocking story of doomed lovers on the run from vengeful vampires or some such nonsense, but only the hardcore who were willing to analyze endlessly on the Internet were aware of this; based on pure sound, MCR was an emo-punk band through and through, screaming out their feelings as if they were revelations, so it was easy to assume that their music was merely autobiographical. My Chemical Romance took great pains to have The Black Parade seem like its own theatrical work, launching a whole Web-based campaign, filled with videos and interviews explaining how the album tells the tale of "the Patient," a young man dying of cancer in a hospital bed who flashes back on his undistinguished life upon the moment of his death, and how the band got so into this project they considered themselves not My Chemical Romance, but a band called the Black Parade -- shades of the Beatles and Sgt. Pepper! Naturally, those allusions are quite deliberate, and one that MCR played up in that pre-release campaign, dropping liberal reference to Queen (particularly A Night at the Opera) and Pink Floyd's The Wall as well. It was all quite reminiscent of how the Killers set up Sam's Town with endless name-dropping of Bruce Springsteen and U2, but where the Las Vegas quartet wound up with an unholy fusion of these two extremes, MCR never synthesizes; they openly steal from their holy trinity, then graft it upon the sound they've patented. Often, it seems as if they copied The Wall onto tracing paper and placed it upon Three Cheers. The story of The Black Parade is nearly identical to The Wall -- Pink and the Patient run through a litany of childhood and adulthood traumas; absent fathers loom large; many of the main character's flaws are cruelly deemed the fault of the mother -- and there are plenty of flourishes lifted from Roger Waters' magnum opus: the opening fanfare "The End" is a re-creation of "In the Flesh," right down to the churning heavy guitars that come crashing in halfway through, while "Mama" -- shades of "Mother"! -- sounds like Green Day performing "The Trial," as Way affects Billie Joe's affected mock-English accent as he comes tantalizingly close to following "You should have raised a baby girl/I should have been a better son" with "The way you made them suffer/Your exquisite wife and mother/Fills me with the urge to defecate." These are not the only allusions to classic concept albums, either -- as promised, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero conjure Brian May's spirit, "Cancer" recalls Sgt. Pepper as filtered through Oasis -- but The Black Parade doesn't feel like a revival of '70s prog as much as it hearkens back to the twin towers of mid-'90s concept alt-rock: the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar. Manson's enduring fascination with the grotesque echoes throughout the album, from the artwork through Way's overcooked, bluntly ugly lyrics (highlighted by "soggy from the chemo"), but its heart lies with the Pumpkins, and not just because after his Parade makeover Way strongly resembles Billy Corgan. Like the Pumpkins, My Chemical Romance shares a love of classic metal that manifests itself in both pummeling riffs and soaring guitar solos, plus they also have a flair for melody, two things that give their solipsistic rock muscle and grandeur. If MCR didn't have these gifts, The Black Parade would collapse in a pile of drama club clichés, sophomoric self-pity, and an adolescent obsession with death, yet they manage to skirt such a disaster even if they flirt with it shamelessly. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the album is a triumph. For one, The Black Parade plays a lot straighter than it reads. Sure, it has the marching bands, overdubbed choirs, radio-play theatrics, and Liza Minnelli cameos, a list that makes the album sound like a wild Grand Guignol rock opera but all of that winds up being window dressing to music that often isn't far removed from what My Chemical Romance has done before. Despite all these seemingly fancy accouterments, they're still a modern emo-punk band, which means for all the emotion poured out by their ever-earnest lead singer, there's little grit in their sound and Rob Cavallo's brittle production doesn't help, as its wall of digital sound emphasizes the sonic similarities between the songs instead of their differences. And there are a lot of similarities here: the bulk of the record is firmly within MCR's comfort zone, which helps make the extra flair -- which doesn't arrive as often as it should -- stand out all the more. But even if this isn't quite the radical break that it was intended to be, MCR does their signature blend of Sturm und Drang better than ever -- "Dead!" rushes along on a series of escalating hooks, "This Is How I Disappear" surges with purpose -- and when they're paired with tunes that do break the mold, like the wonderfully pompous title track "Welcome to the Black Parade" or "Teenagers," a tremendous reworking of the "Bang a Gong"/"Cactus" riff that is the simplest and best song they've ever written, it makes for a record that's their strongest, most cohesive yet, even if it isn't quite as weird or compelling as it should be given the group's lofty ambitions.

Bobby Darin - The Definitive Pop Collection download album

Bobby Darin - The Definitive Pop Collection

Artist: Bobby Darin

Album: The Definitive Pop Collection

Release Date: September 12, 2006

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

Thirty tracks of Bobby Darin performances, ranging from "Splish Splash" to "If I Were a Carpenter" and beyond, don't come around every day. Granted, Rhino's Definitive Pop Collection could have included at least ten more songs spread across these two discs, but the track selection is peerless and the sound is as good as it gets. Beginning with the four Top 40 hits Darin recorded in the late '50s as a teen idol, the set moves directly into his vocal pop prime with the Top Ten placings "Dream Lover" "Mack the Knife," and "Beyond the Sea," before wrapping up the first disc midway through 1961 (when he recorded no less than seven hits). The second disc finds Darin coming to terms with the folk boom of the '60s, most memorably with his Tim Hardin covers ("If I Were a Carpenter," "Reason to Believe," "The Lady Came from Baltimore"), but also with great covers of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" and the Lovin' Spoonful's "Lovin' You."

Dusty Springfield - Live at the BBC download album

Dusty Springfield - Live at the BBC

Artist: Dusty Springfield

Album: Live at the BBC

Release Date: May 7, 2007

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

In 1966 and 1967, Dusty Springfield did two separate six-episode black-and-white television series, simply titled Dusty, for the BBC. Although there was one featured guest per show, otherwise the focus was all on Dusty, who sang a half-dozen or so songs on each program. Unfortunately a few of the episodes have been erased or lost, but material from nine of the twelve -- three of the ones broadcast in 1966, and all of the ones aired in 1967 -- is featured on this remarkable DVD, which is a real treasure trove of footage largely unknown even to many Springfield fans, especially in the U.S., where this series wasn't shown. It would be enough in itself simply to see so much footage of Springfield in her absolute prime, the episodes edited so that only her solo songs and performances are featured. What makes it downright amazing, however, is that many of the 46 songs -- only a very few of them multiple versions, and one of them (one of the two renditions of Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away") not even transmitted at the time -- are numbers she never put on her studio releases. Among them are a wealth of American soul covers, including good-to-dynamic versions of Martha & the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" and "Nowhere to Run," Aretha Franklin's "Soulville," the Temptations' "Get Ready," the Drifters' "I Don't Want to Go on Without You," Mary Wells' "You Lost the Sweetest Boy," and Sam Cooke's "Good Times."Springfield was always an eclectic chooser of material, however, and perhaps more so than ever here given that she was performing on a nationally televised variety show. That can be a mixed blessing -- there are too many middle of the road pop standards, including a vaudevillian number so cutesy ("If My Friends Could See Me Now") that even hardcore Springfield fans might feel like shielding their eyes from the screen. Yet the non-rock items also include some quite moving and intriguing performances that bring sides of Springfield to light that aren't too prominent in her '60s records, including a beautiful rendition of the Irish traditional folk song "My Lagan Love"; the folk standard "Poor Wayfaring Stranger," which Springfield states she actually learned from Jo Stafford's version; the Spanish song "Anna," "on which Dusty plays guitar; and "Two Brothers," a tune she originally recorded way back in her Springfields days. General fans who might feel disoriented by the inclusion of so much (and such a wide assortment of) obscure material can be reassured that she does in fact do a few hits too, including "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "All I See Is You," "Losing You," and "Some of Your Lovin'." It's great, though, to have the opportunity to hear (and see) her doing so many otherwise unavailable songs, and though the camera work and sets are basic, her vocals are uniformly strong and her stage presence always elegant and ingratiating.Also on the DVD are a few interesting extras, those being a version of the Rascals' "How Can I Be Sure" from a 1970 BBC program; covers of "Since I Fell for You" and (less pleasingly) "I Am Woman" from a 1972 episode of The Tom Jones Show; and a 1979 BBC performance of her lukewarm single "I'm Coming Home Again," preceded by almost 15 minutes of talk show chat in which she discusses her long stay abroad in Los Angeles. The photo gallery (some stills from the Dusty series accompanied by the studio version of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" on the soundtrack) and "jukebox," mixing audio-only versions of a few of her '60s hits with audio-only tracks taken from the Dusty performances, are inessential bonuses, especially as it makes much more sense to just watch the footage of the Dusty songs instead of merely listening to them. As good as this DVD is, it could have been even better had not three of the episodes from the 1966 Dusty series been tragically lost. What's here, however, is voluminous -- adding up to more than two-and-a-half hours -- and, more importantly, is not only fine historical footage, but also adds significantly to Springfield's body of '60s work considering the unavailability of many of the songs on audio-only releases.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd download album

Lynyrd Skynyrd - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd

Album: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Release Date: March 9, 1999

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

Like any record company worth their salt, MCA knows a good gimmick when they see it, and when the millennium came around -- well, the 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection wasn't too far behind. Supposedly, the millennium is a momentous occasion, but it's hard to feel that way when it's used as another excuse to turn out a budget-line series. But apart from the presumptuous title, 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection turns out to be a very good budget-line series. True, it's impossible for any of these brief collections to be definitive, but they're nevertheless solid samplers that don't feature a bad song in the bunch. For example, take Lynyrd Skynyrd's 20th Century volume -- it's an irresistible ten-song summary of their MCA years. There may be a couple of noteworthy songs missing, but many of their best-known songs are here, including "Sweet Home Alabama," "What's Your Name," "Gimme Three Steps," "You Got That Right," "Saturday Night Special," "That Smell," and "Free Bird." Serious fans will want something more extensive, but this is an excellent introduction for neophytes and a great sampler for casual fans, considering its length and price. That doesn't erase the ridiculousness of the series title, but the silliness is excusable when the music and the collections are good.

Jade Warrior - Jade Warrior download album

Jade Warrior - Jade Warrior

Artist: Jade Warrior

Album: Jade Warrior

Release Date: 1971

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

Jade Warrior's first album following Tony Duhig and Jon Field's emergence out of the psychedelic July captures them abandoning the best of that band's whimsical moodiness in favor of a symphonic spirituality epitomized from the outset by the soaring guitars that ecstatically slice through the opening "Traveller." Reminiscent, in places, of a less-precious successor to Quintessence and the Incredible String Band in that moods and esotericism do sometimes get the better of the band's more conventional music impulses, Jade Warrior is nevertheless a remarkable album, all the more so since its makers could readily have given the likes of Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues some serious competition in the mellifluous prog stakes. Glyn Havard's vocals themselves can sound extraordinarily Ian Anderson-ish in places, with Field's wielding of the flute and some distinctly edgy tempos only furthering that impression. Elsewhere, however, the same tools combine to induce emotions that range from trance to terror, an accomplishment that means highlights of the album are difficult to single out. Although the ten tracks are clearly delineated, the song titles are little more than passing impressions of the music's own sensations, rendering Jade Warrior one of those rare albums that is best experienced as a seamless whole.

Mono / The Wordless Music Orchestra - Holy Ground: NYC Live download album

Mono / The Wordless Music Orchestra - Holy Ground: NYC Live

Artist: Mono / The Wordless Music Orchestra

Album: Holy Ground: NYC Live

Release Date: April 27, 2010

Genre: Pop/Rock

Format: mp3 / FLAC

Any Mono fan knows that Holy Ground: NYC Live isn’t the first time the famed instrumental Japanese rock quartet has appeared on a DVD. The Sky Remains the Same as Ever included footage of them recording and touring, revealing the deep commitment they have to every detail in composition, recording, and live performances. That said, this CD/DVD package takes all those elements to an entirely different level, designed to make even the most cynical listener sit up and take notice of one of the most truly unique forces in post-rock music. After the release of 2009’s truly brilliant Hymn to the Immortal Wind, which had them recording live in the studio with a large chamber orchestra, Mono and label Temporary Residence, Ltd. went a giant leap further. To celebrate the band’s tenth anniversary and the album's release, they held a one-off concert as part of the Wordless Music Festival, where the group played live with the 24-piece Wordless Music Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky. While five of the tracks on the nine-cut CD were live versions of tracks from Hymn to the Immortal Wind, the other four on the disc were taken from their catalog: “Are You There?” from You Are There; “2 Candles, 1 Wish” and “Halcyon (Beautiful Days)” from Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined; and “Where Am I” from New York Soundtracks. The audio here is crystalline, produced and mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis). Every detail in texture, dynamic, and explosive tension is captured, making for a concert of unmatched beauty, with 21st century classical tradition wedded to the rise and fall of Mono’s brand of emotionally charged and cinematically evocative music. Check the lilting beginnings of “Are You There?” as fingerpicked guitars give way to flowing strummed and pounded electrics, shimmering cymbals, and well-placed basslines and kick drums, as the strings underscore the band’s performance with every nuance in the sound articulated and enhanced, adding to its depth and dimension. What it reveals is that -- though they’ve only recently begun working with orchestras -- Mono’s music has always lent itself to this kind of interpretation. The more subtle melodic aspects of the band’s attack come up in this selection and in others, such as “Burial at Sea” and “Everlasting Flight.” The DVD in the package is the real prize, however; it contains the entire 90-minute performance along with the extra cut "Follow the Map." It contains the same stunning sound and captures the ambience and visual detail of the communication between all participants in this experience inside the darkened concert hall. Whether heard or seen, Holy Ground: NYC Live is a singular offering, one of depth and almost unbearable emotional and visceral power that is expressed poetically and sonically as unadulterated beauty.